Connecting Digital Histories of Fugitive Slaves

'Connecting Digital Histories of Fugitive Slaves' will launch a collaboration in digital scholarship between the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, the Virtual Museum of Slavery and Empire being developed by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Recognition in Glasgow, the University of Glasgow, Aston University in Birmingham, the Gilder Lehrman Centre for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, and the Yale Centre for British Art. Drawing on new and emerging technologies, the network will develop innovative methods to link and enhance existing datasets and digitised sources. This work will focus attention on the experiences of people seeking refuge from slavery in the UK, North America and the Caribbean while also highlighting the complex legacies of slavery and resistance in the present. The network will host three interconnected workshops featuring hackathon sessions in which historians, digital humanities specialists, museum professionals and educators will work together to create new connections and shared resources that challenge archival silences around Black histories.

This project will have a targeted impact on three main groups: museum curators, educators and community organisations.

Through the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture, the network will be connected to the wider network of US museums and cultural institutions, which will allow for widespread dissemination of the results of the workshops. Curators will be able to track ongoing progress of the project through the workshop reports, engage more actively through the blog-posts and prototype exhibits and make use of the guide to co-creation. This impact will be reinforced through the active participation of a representative from the Yale Centre of British Art, which as an art museum and research institute not only has a different curatorial practice and focus, but also caters to a substantially different audience. These two representatives will be key contacts for Marenka Thompson-Odlum, the researcher currently developing the Glasgow-based Virtual Museum of Slavery and Empire, to exchange on curating practice, digital scholarship and reaching marginalised and underserved communities.

The network also aims to engage with public historians and educators who are committed to a long-term project of bringing Black histories into the heart of curriculum design. Thomas Thurston, Miranda Kaufmann and Michael Ohajuru are all experienced educators and public outreach practitioners, who are familiar with the use of digital technologies to engage diverse audiences. Zandra Yeaman from the Council for Racial Equality and Recognition will provide a needed link to grassroots community organisations and Black activist groups to ensure not only widespread impact, but active co-creation of research strategies and directions.